Whether your glorious Independence Day has already arrived or you have circled the big day boldly on your calendar – in both cases, congratulations! – before you start to think, “Oh sh*t, what have I done?!” consider these points to ensure you enjoy much success in your new life as a freelancing photographer:

Sell your work…without selling your soul. Mortgages, car payments, and utility bills do not disappear when you start your own business. As a new entrepreneur soley responsible for gaining income for your business, look for work that gets you out of bed in the morning, as your passion will show not only in the products and services you deliver, but also in the relationships you build with clients. If your new career starts to feel too much like work (yay, aren’t taxes fun?!?), keep your love of photography alive by working on challenging personal projects in your free time.

“Just Say No.” It may sound illogical to turn down business opportunities as you begin your new career, but heed these wise words from Nancy Reagan. Once you’ve defined a niche for yourself, be comfortable turning down short-term money-making endeavors unrelated to your path to instead build your brand and skills within your area of expertise. For example, if your focus is wildlife photography, build your body of work by photographing elk or eagles on the weekend, not the “wild life” of weddings. By investing your limited time to find lucrative outlets within your domain, your sales will be greater in the long run.

Update your online portfolio. No one wants to visit a website that you have neglected to update since 2010. As your perfect your work and style, showcase your newest and best photography, as well as published tear-sheets and clips, on your website and social media outlets to keep your existing customers coming back for more and to attract new clients.

Keep the “unity” in your community. Friends, supporters, experts, connections – literally anyone! – can turn into a paying client so it’s important to keep building your relationships and awareness within your circles. Ask “What can I do for you” instead of “Isn’t my picture pretty? Do you want to buy it?” Consistently deliver educational presentations throughout your local community, stay active in professional organizations, and engage with others in social media conversations. Because of the snowball effect exposure can have in increasing your sales, even the smallest opportunity could transform into your future signature work. Never underestimate the value of exposure (pun intended!).

Shut up and listen. To gain business, don not rely upon the movie Field of Dreams’ motto, “If you build it, they will come.” As you connect with members of your community, listen carefully to the comments, complaints, and questions they have related to their world to gain ideas for content in your next assignment, upcoming show, book project, or otherwise. Proactively create your own sales opportunities by delivering solutions to them based on their input.

Learn; there is no “fail.” If you are blazing your own path and testing new ideas through a wide variety of experiences, inevitably you will have moments when things don’t go the way you hoped. No matter how much mud you feel is covering your face, hose yourself off, and ask yourself, “What can I learn from this experience? How can I improve next time?” As Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Working 24 x 7 does not equal success. Though tempting, resist the urge to work day and night to keep your business moving forward.Take time to step away from the juggling act to avoid burn out and refresh your creative soul. As you would schedule vacation time in your previous job, set aside time to relax and enjoy activities unrelated to your profession, leaving the camera and laptop behind.

If you’ve started a new career or independent business, what tips and tricks have you utilized to stay afloat as you charter new territory? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below!

And of course, no matter where you are in the transition, I wish you the very best of luck in your journey as a professional photographer! Go forth and conquer! And keep us updated with your progress and learnings along the way!

If you’re content with keeping photography as a hobby but would like more information on how to sell the photographs collecting dust on your hard drive, then join me for the 1-day Arizona Highways Photography Workshop, “Selling Your Work Without Selling Your Soul” session on June 1, 2013. For information and registration, visit www.ahpw.org/workshops/2013/Phoenix-Arizona-Selling-Your-Photography-2013-06-01. </shameless plug>

7 Responses to “Staying Afloat in Your Photography Career”

Great post Colleen! It really helps to hear success stories and the plans that make them possible. I am in the early stages of building a landscape photography career, with the goal of leaving my 9 to 5 in the future, and can use all the advice I can get.
Thanks,
Nick

Excellent, Karen! One thing is for sure, you can’t wait for opportunities to come to you (otherwise you’d be waiting a long time by the phone…). I’m sure there are other ways to achieve it, but certainly having the attitude of “What can I do for you” can get you a long way in not just photography, but any business. Plus, it feels good to help others, right?!

[...] are you ready to enter your very own big top? In a future blog post, “Staying Afloat in Your Photography Career,” we’ll explore the best ways to not only stay on the tightrope, but to also how to give a [...]

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About Me

Howdy! My name is Colleen Miniuk-Sperry and after spending 10 years stuck in a grey cubicle, I escaped Corporate America in 2007 and have been a full-time freelance photographer, writer, instructor, and speaker under the "CMS Photography" business name ever since. I specialize in nature, travel and outdoor recreation photography and writings. Besides being incredibly passionate (obsessed?) with photography and writing, I'm fluent in sarcasm, love French Chardonnay (though I don't discriminate against any type of wine), and much prefer dark, moody cloudy skies to clear blue ones. To read a full bio and to learn more about my work, please visit my main CMS Photography website at: www.cms-photo.com. Thanks for stopping by!

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About the Author

Colleen Miniuk-Sperry fled the grey cubicle walls and left her unfulfilling software engineering job behind at Intel Corporation in 2007 to pursue a more meaningful life as a full-time outdoor photographer, writer, publisher, instructor, and speaker. Her credits include National Geographic calendars, Arizona Highways, AAA Via, National Parks Traveler, On Landscape, and a broad variety of other publications. She has served three times as an Artist-in-Residence with Acadia National Park.

She authored the award-winning guidebooks, Photographing Acadia National Park: The Essential Guide to When, Where, and How and Wild in Arizona: Photographing Arizona’s Wildflowers, A Guide to When, Where, & How (1st and 2nd editions) as well as the instructional eBook, Seeing the Light in Outdoor Photography.

Colleen offers highly-acclaimed photography workshops and women’s photography retreats (called “Sheography™”) through her own company, CMS Photography, as well as Arizona Highways Photography Workshops, Arizona Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, and numerous private engagements in the past. She also provides inspirational and educational presentations at photography clubs, conferences, and symposiums, as well at art clubs and outdoor-related organizations across the country.

Colleen is an active member, Secretary on the Board of Directors for Outdoor Writers Association of America, where she served as the interim Executive Director in 2017.